Eugene O'Neill's classic American tragedy Desire Under the Elms tells the story of characters driven by a set of common, and therefore competing, desires. Many believe that O'Neill meant Longing Under the Elms in reference to the longing between Eben and Abbie, and therefore place a strong emphasis on the Oedipal themes that are visible as a result. While this incestuous desire is important, the desire for agricultural land shared by all characters is another significant dimension of the play's titular desire that needs to be examined. The struggle for family legacy depicted in the Cabot family is an ancient story that dates back thousands of years and is also evident in the Bible. Much like the biblical character Jacob, Desiderio's Eben is competing for what he believes to be his birthright: the Cabot farm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Desire Under the Elms, much attention is paid to the land this family is fighting for, from the first words of the work to the last. The show opens with a scene that establishes this central conflict over the land, as the three brothers lament who deserves to inherit the farm. In a revealing exchange during the play's second scene, Eben, Simeon, and Pietro stage this battle for the inheritance of their parents' farm: Eben... You will never go because you will wait here for your share. ' the farm, thinking that allus [Cabot] will die soon. Simeone: we have the right. Peter: Two-thirds belong to us (O'Neill 7). Throughout the play this mentality of entitlement is dominant and guides the actions of each of the brothers: as Eben correctly points out, it is the only reason why all three brothers are still waiting and living on the farm. The battle for the farm becomes more complicated when the boys' father, Cabot, brings home a new wife, Abbie, who is also apparently hungry for farmland. Although Eben's Oedipal desire for Abbie appears to determine his final actions in the story, a reminder of the beauty and desirability of the farm ultimately closes the play. As the sheriff is about to take Abbie and Eben away, he enviously (and significantly) proclaims, “It's a hell of a farm, I won't deny it. I wish I had owned it!” (O'Neill 64). O'Neill will surely intersperse that reminder in an attempt to reinforce man's primal desire to own the land and justify the boys' conflict over the beautiful stone-surrounded farm. O'Neill is known for including his personal life in his writings, and he certainly expresses his own religion over the biblical allusions in this play. As previously mentioned, land hunger is not a new phenomenon, and much of the Bible revolves around conflict over land, especially between brothers. The common desire for the land shared by all the characters in the play is what drives evil among them, and O'Neill seems to warn against such a fate. This sinful competition between the males of the family is for both land and maternal love, and leads each of the characters to a seemingly unfortunate fate: Eben and Abbie end up in love but imprisoned, Cabot has the farm but has no wife or wife. family, and Simeon and Peter have no rights to the farm but are panning for gold in California. O'Neill's Christian theology is recognizable in this work, in which he explores these ancient questions in an almost cautionary manner. More specifically, by describing Eben as cunning and devious, O'Neill makes an obvious reference to Jacob, the Bible's quintessential trickster. In theBook of Genesis, Jacob takes advantage of his momentarily hungry brother Esau by purchasing Esau's birthright with a bowl of soup. (It is understood that in the Bible the older brother – Esau in this case – will receive the “birthright,” which is a larger portion of the family inheritance and essentially the position of patriarch of the family.) Jacob later deceives his father as well Isaac in giving him the coveted family "blessing" - which Esau should also have received - to Isaac's dismay. Like Jacob, Eben is the youngest son of the Cabot family and fights his brothers for the birthright of the farm. Eben is manipulative and deceives his brothers to acquire their portions of farmland. Knowing that Simeon and Peter were interested in leaving for the Golden West, Eben steals some of his father's hidden money to bribe them into giving up their shares of the land. Eben explains to his brothers, “If you sign this you can get on a boat… He says it will be three hundred dollars each and you agree that your shares of the farm will be sold to me” (O'Neill 12). Although they are hesitant, they relinquish their birthright to Eben, as they do not believe they will get the land anymore. In fact, Simeon tells Peter "if Zampa got married, we would sell Eben something we would never buy in any way!" when considering it (O'Neill 14). This scene is very reminiscent of the biblical passage in which Jacob obtains Esau's birthright: Esau said to Jacob: 'Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am hungry!' …Jacob said, 'First sell me your birthright.' Esau said, 'I am about to die; What use do I need a birthright?' Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob… So Esau despised his birthright (Genesis 25:30-34). In both stories, the manipulative brother takes advantage of his brothers at a time when they are vulnerable due to distractions (such as hunger, gold.) Both Jacob and Eben secure their birthright through similar methods of bribery. and deception, so the character of Eben was undoubtedly influenced by this biblical story. One problem with being a deceiver, for both Eben and Jacob, is that they are always paranoid that they too will be deceived. In the Bible, Jacob worries, after taking Esau's birthright and blessing, that Esau will kill him and consequently flees the city. In Eben's case, he doesn't have to worry about his brothers, who have left for the West, but instead becomes suspicious of Abbie. Being a master of deception, Eben knows that Abbie may have ulterior motives in confessing her love for him. Eben accuses her of having a deceptive plan by shouting frantically, “You've got me fooled, a fool, a fool, a purpose! You continued to play your stealing game the whole time, convincing me to lie with you so you would have a child he would believe was his, and making him promise he would. give him the farm and leave me to eat the dust, if you have given him a son!” (O'Neill 52). Eben projects the deceptive methods he used (sneaking and stealing) onto Abbie, exemplifying his paranoia. This accusation, however, only leads to even greater evil, as Abbie kills their child to prove her love and honesty to Eben. Eben later admits to the Sheriff his integral role in the mess, then turns himself in. Interestingly, Jacob is depicted as a heroic character in the Bible, and is held in high esteem by the biblical authors and by God himself. In the Book of Genesis, God provides for Jacob and his family, which seems ironic considering that Jacob was deceitful to his brother. Regardless, Jacob and his family in.